Science and Religion Compatible?

Over the ages, as man has gazed up into the stares, he has pondered the beauty of the heavens, the emptiness of space, imagined time without end. It was a universe that he was a part of, but at the same time it was a universe beyond his ability to grasp. The earth was flat... as far as he could see. The sky was a canopy over the earth of which the heavenly bodies were a part. Surely, just like anything else in man's world has a beginning and an end, so must the earth and its canopy. Where did this earth and canopy come from? Thus religion and science were born.

And now, thousands of years since man first gazed up in wonder, science has charted much of our galaxy and our nearest galactic neighbors. We have seen billions of light years beyond the seemingly 2-dimensional heavenly canopy. We have calculated the time since the universe began. We have discovered the infinitesimal building-blocks of matter. We have traced the origins of life on earth. And we have cured incurable diseases.

Religion has progressed as well. What began as wonder and speculation has evolved into a rich pantheon of Creators; from Marduk of the Babylonians to Enki of the Samerians, from Ahura Mazdah of the Persians to Amun of the Egyptions, from YHVH of the Israelites to Khronos of the Greeks, from Jesus of the modern West to Allah of the modern Middle East. And man has committed his cruelties and atrocities in the name of these gods.

Are religion and science compatible? All too often, they are. Throughout history, we have used the discoveries of science to more effectively wage war against our fellow man and we have used the dogmas of religion to justify it.

This blog is a discussion about religion. Does faith make sense? Does doubt? Is religion good or bad for society?